State panel vote clears Marcus in ethics case

The State Ethics Commission unanimously voted Friday that "no probable cause" was found that County Commissioner Karen Marcus violated ethics laws by soliciting donations from a developer in the name of her favorite turtle charity in exchange for her vote on zoning changes that would benefit the donor.

In the 5-0 vote, the commission upheld the findings of a state investigation that recommended Sept.10 that the commission clear Marcus.

Marcus could not be reached for comment despite calls.

In March, Paul McCullough, a former candidate for West Palm Beach mayor and county commissioner, filed the ethics complaint alleging that Marcus solicited donations from Sam Klein, who owns a 25 percent stake in Palm Beach Aggregates, for the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach.

The Aggregates, a large mining operation and land owner in western Palm Beach County, figures centrally into land deals that have already unseated two county commissioners.

In August, former County Commissioner Tony Masilotti reported to a federal prison camp in Miami to serve five years after he pleaded guilty to honest services fraud for profiting from secret stakes in several land deals involving the Aggregates.

Former Commissioner Warren Newell pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud for secret deals that also involved the company.

According to the ethics complaint, Marcus met with Klein and he toured the turtle sanctuary April 1, 2004. The complaint alleged that Klein then made a $50,000 donation to the center. The complaint said that not long afterward, Marcus voted along with the "majority of a divided vote that approved a zoning change for a tract of land owned by Palm Beach Aggregates that increased its zoned capacity from 120 homes to 2,000 homes."

State investigators found that Marcus was absent from two of the three votes on the matter, including the final vote approving the zoning change. The investigators also found that although Marcus introduced Klein to staff at the Marinelife Center, "both she and Mr. Klein deny that she solicited a donation for the Center and the evidence is otherwise insufficient to link the donation to Respondent's [Marcus'] vote for the PBA zoning change."

Sally Apgar can be reached at sapgar@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5506.